ABS is advancing Task 2.5, focused on developing and validating a Ship Digital Passport (SDP) that will advance Circular Economy, as well as supporting the quantification of the vessels’ circularity.
Originally developed from the concept of a material passport, the SDP is a ship-specific framework inspired by Digital Product Passports (DPPs) emerging in other sectors, such as batteries, textiles, and construction, adapted to the needs of the maritime industry. Its development followed a mixed-method, iterative approach combining literature review with stakeholder consultation. The ABS team first reviewed existing DPP practices and identified the main value chain actors across the ship lifecycle. Based on this, an initial SDP structure was developed and then refined through successive rounds of feedback involving other ESY partners, including shipyards, a shipowner, and engineering experts, as well as external input from the CirclesOfLife consortium. The resulting SDP is structured around four main categories: Vessel Information, Sustainability and Circularity, Health and Safety Records, and Value Chain Actors. Together, these categories are intended to improve traceability, transparency, and lifecycle data management, while supporting circular economy objectives such as material tracking, repair and maintenance, retrofit, and end-of-life decision-making.
On the circularity front, the work has identified already existing circularity metrics applicable to vessels, from design through end-of-life. The focus is on metrics that are capable of quantifying reduction of input resources, reduction of materials losses and waste generation, increased use of secondary resources and increases in product utilization and durability. In this way, the circularity framework and the Ship Digital Passport are closely linked: the framework helps define what should be assessed, while the SDP helps capture the data needed to support that assessment.
The next phase will validate the SDP through two practical use cases, with support from shipyard and shipowner partners. By applying the passport to real vessels, the project will assess which data fields are readily available, where information gaps remain, and what improvements are needed to make the tool more practical and effective under real-world conditions.
The final version of the Ship Digital Passport, together with the validation results and key findings, will be included in Deliverable D2.3, planned for completion in August 2026.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 101138730. UK participation in EcoShipYard Project is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe guarantee [grant-number 10120898].
